The tool is of a type having a handle with, at an end thereof, a sponge-bearing device (a sponge being used for washing the floor). This device comprises at least a first segment and at least a second segment, which together form a support for the sponge; both segments are preferably flat and elongate, and are hinged one to the other in order to be able to pass from an extended working configuration into a folded configuration, in which the sponge can be squeezed.
The passage from one configuration to the other is achieved very simply, by manually pushing a sleeve which, running along the handle and being connected to a rod which in turn is connected to the second of the segments, produces a rotation of the second segment relative to the first segment which thus leads to a compressing and therefore a squeezing of the sponge.
In these realizations, the lower end of the handle is stably fixed to the first segment of the device, while the second segment is constrained by a simple hinge to an end of the manoveuvring rod, which rod has another end hinged to the manoeuvring sleeve which is slidably and coaxially coupled to the handle. In prior-art applications, the stable fixture of the handle to the first segment of the sponge-bearing device constitutes a rigid coupling which very severely limits freedom of movement of the tool during operation. It is also true, however, that the structure of the mechanism for squeezing the sponge in these applications requires a rigid coupling between the handle and the first segment of the sponge-bearing device.
The main aim of the present invention is to obviate the above-mentioned limitations in the prior art by providing a tool which, while keeping the basic mechanism for sponge-squeezing intact, also affords a freedom of rotation for the handle in relation to the sponge-bearing device.
The invention has the advantages of being of simple construction while also being very functional.
These aims and advantages and others besides are all attained by the present invention, as it is characterised in the appended claims.